Five Hours Drinking Beer Results In Three Deaths

Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) May 14, 2013 – The drunk driver in this case wiped out an entire family by fleeing another accident.

“The family that lost their lives in a horrific wreck with a drunk driver were minding their own business and heading out for a meal when out of the blue they were broadsided. The car that hit them was speeding, and the impact was ugly and brutal. Three people died; a mother and her two sons. The single mother was trying to raise and support her two boys and worked hard to keep the family together,” indicated Austin personal injury attorney Bobby Lee, of Lee, Gober and Reyna in Austin, Texas.

The drunk driver that hit and killed the family had been swilling beer for five hours before getting into his car and rear-ending another vehicle at a stop sign. He fled the scene at a high rate of speed, slamming into the second car in the middle of an intersection. Prosecutors indicated that the drunk driver was on probation for a 2010 DUI conviction, and that when he raced from the scene of the first accident, he was doing up to 60 mph.

“Two hours after the crash, the man’s blood alcohol level registered as .18 percent, which would be more than twice the legal limit; a good indication that if his blood alcohol level had been taken two hours earlier, it would have been even higher. Five hours of drinking beer would definitely affect his ability to walk, never mind drive, nonetheless he relied on impaired judgment to go ahead. The drink was talking louder than common sense,” added Lee.

The man was charged with misdemeanor hit and run, felony DUI and three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while DUI. He is likely to spend a very long time in jail. “Whether or not the woman’s family will file a wrongful death lawsuit is unclear, but that would be one way to attempt to obtain compensation to pay for three funerals and burials, in addition to loss of companionship and support,” Lee pointed out.

Wrongful death lawsuits do not have to be about obtaining compensation. They may be launched because the family wants to send a message that over-serving someone that was clearly inebriated is negligent and that drinking and driving is negligent.